Stressed teacher cleared on dumb-bell attack

LONDON: A science teacher who bludgeoned an unruly pupil with a 3kg dumb-bell while shouting "die, die, die" was cleared yesterday of trying to murder the boy.

Jurors took less than two hours to acquit Peter Harvey, 50, of attempted murder and grievous bodily harm with intent.

The four-day trial at Nottingham Crown Court was told the father of two teenage girls - one of whom has Asperger's syndrome - was a "caring and giving man" who was frequently tormented by pupils before the attack.

After the verdicts, Judge Michael Stokes, QC, who had earlier questioned the decision to prosecute the teacher, said "common sense has prevailed". He said Mr Harvey would not be imprisoned or face a suspended jail term when he returns for sentencing on May 21.

The teacher never denied assaulting the boy and his case hinged on the argument that, already mentally ill, he was driven to breaking point by an unruly class of badly behaved pupils at All Saints' Roman Catholic School in Mansfield, Nottinghamshire, last July.

Harvey, who admitted causing grievous bodily harm without intent, told police he felt as if he was watching himself on television as he beat his 14-year-old victim twice about the head. The teenager suffered a fractured skull and spent five days in hospital but has since recovered.

The defendant returned to teaching shortly before the assault after having time off for stress, the court heard. He spent eight months on remand and was given bail just before the trial.

Harvey had chased the boy - who had been waving a wooden metre rule and told the teacher to "f*** off" - around the classroom. When he caught him, he grabbed him by the collar, dragged him into a side room and beat him with the dumb-bell, leaving him bleeding and semi-conscious.

- Independent